At a cursory glance, the character of Dr. Sahana in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu , played by Sruthi Hariharan, may not have appeared as important as the lead pair of Venkob Rao (Ananth Nag) and Shiva (Rakshit Shetty). But look again and you'll see that it is Sahana that anchors the search for Venkob Rao. In the driver's seat, it is Sahana that nudges the story forward and cements the fragile relationship between a father and son.
And Sruthi's portrayal of this subtle, yet integral role, has been appreciated by audiences. In fact, it is being said that the role finally does justice to the kind of performer that she is.
Ask her how life has been post- Godhi Banna… and she says, "When I look at the kind of roles I've been getting after Godhi Banna… , I have to say that they are not very different from the run-of-the-mill roles for women in the industry. Writers don't emerge suddenly and say ‘okay this girl can act, let's write for her’."
In this interview, Sruthi speaks about her upcoming projects, the kind of roles for women in the industry, and her new avatar as producer. Excerpts:
Why are the number of strong roles for women so few?
Kannada cinema did have strong roles for women in the past. Take Puttanna Kanagal's cinema for instance. But somewhere along the way, it became more about machismo, masculinity and heroism and these came to define entertainment.
There are roles for female actors that matter, and I'm getting to do some of them, luckily.
There's this film I signed before Godhi Banna... called Beautiful Manasugalu . I'm also doing a film called Urvi, which has three strong women at its core.
Ultimately, it is about good writing. But a good writer can do very little if he does not have the backing of a producer.
After a good run of new and different films- right from RangiTaranga to Godhi Banna... is the 'new-wave' over?
There has to be a balance. You do need the bad films and the completely commercial ones etc. alongside the good films. And that's how it is for me too.
If I get to do two films that are real and relatable, then there are two other films in which I'm just a heroine.
I've always wondered about how female actors feel when saying a certain vulgar dialogue... Do you cringe?
Absolutely. I have no qualms in admitting that. There are times when I tell myself I cannot be saying such a dialogue. But I also know why I signed such a film. The truth is I need to survive; for this is my bread and butter. There have been people who have criticised me. I just ask them to come pay my bills.
What's Urvi about?
Urvi is about three different women, their tryst with a particular circumstance and about how they cope and succumb to that circumstance. Urvi is the goddess of circumstance. It has a beautiful script. Written by a man who understands the plight of women so well; the film has a beautiful script.
You've also recently stepped into production. Was that a sudden decision?
It was definitely a sudden decision. I wanted to write and direct a film but I felt I'm not yet ready for that.
When Madan Ramvenkatesh, who is also the director of my short film ABC (2015), came to me with the film, I was very excited by the concept. But funding was a problem. So I thought why not put a part of my earnings back into my art.
That's how the decision to turn producer was made. The short film is called The Last Kannadiga and we intend to take the film to the festival circuit first. The production house is called Kalathmika.
Along with this, we are also coming out with a stage production. It has elements of Kalaripayattu and contemporary dance and explores human behaviour.
You also have Beautiful Manasugalu coming up…
Beautiful Manasugalu is a love story. But at a deeper level, it looks at how media and technology influence modern-day relationships.
